US3741289A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Heat transfer apparatus with immiscible fluids
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1971-05-14
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Granted: 1973-06-26
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Expires: 1991-05-14
Abstract
Abstract A heat transfer device, defined here as a heat link, having a capillary vaporizer adjacent a heat source, transfers heat to a heat sink by vaporization and condensation of a heat transfer fluid within the device. A first passage is provided for conveying vapor from the capillary vaporizer to the heat sink. Another passage which is essentially a continuation of the first passage, conveys condensed liquid from the heat sink to the vaporizer, thus allowing the distance that the liquid must flow through capillary material to be quite short. Contact of the returning liquid with the surface of the vaporizer is assured by providing means for maintaining the temperature of the liquid in the return line at a sufficiently low temperature that any vapor will condense; or, alternatively, by having means for extracting any vapor formed in the returning liquid. In this manner, the heat link operates with high heat flux without any substantial resistance to liquid flow through a long capillary flow path. By thus replacing almost all of the liquid return wick, with its high resistance to fluid flow, of heat pipes with a low flow resistance liquid passage or conduit, the heat flux capacity of the heat link is greatly increased over that of the heat pipe while the quantity of porous material used and the heat link weight are considerably reduced so that a heat link typically has 10 to 1000 times the heat flux capacity of a heat pipe having the same weight. ''''Boosted'''' embodiments of the heat link employing additional means for circulating the fluid, such as vapor jet pumps, powered at least in part by vapor from the capillary vaporizer, are also described. Some ''''boosted'''' heat links are capable of handling heat fluxes in the multi-megawatt range while having no moving parts except for check valves and the fluid itself.
Inventors
- 👤 R Moore
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 21:14
CPC Classifications
F; F28; F28D; F28D15/00; F28D15/02; F28D15/04; F28D15/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
280 words
Heat transfer apparatus comprising: a vaporizer of capillary material having a first surface portion in thermal contact with a heat source, a second surface portion, and a third surface portion; a partly condensed fluid, a portion of said fluid being liquid and another portion being vapor, said liquid wetting said vaporizer capillary material; wall means defining a passage extending between the second surface portion of the vaporizer and the third surface portion of the vaporizer with a heat sink region therebetween, whereby fluid traversing the passage is in thermal contact with the heat sink region in said intermediate passage, for preventing vapor from flowing from the third surface portion to the second surface portion of the vaporizer without passing through said heat sink region; the second surface portion of the vaporizer receiving liquid from the portion of the passage extending to it and the third surface portion of the vaporizer releasing vapor into another portion of the passage extending to it, said vapor being released from the third surface portion of the vaporizer at a higher pressure than that of the liquid entering the second surface portion; and wherein a sufficient area Of the second surface portion is sufficiently close to the first and third surface portions of the vaporizer that the mean distance the liquid flows through capillary material is substantially less than the mean distance the fluid flows through the passage; and a second fluid having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in a portion of the passage adjacent the third surface portion of the vaporizer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
280 words
Heat transfer apparatus comprising: a vaporizer of capillary material having a first surface portion in thermal contact with a heat source, a second surface portion, and a third surface portion; a partly condensed fluid, a portion of said fluid being liquid and another portion being vapor, said liquid wetting said vaporizer capillary material; wall means defining a passage extending between the second surface portion of the vaporizer and the third surface portion of the vaporizer with a heat sink region therebetween, whereby fluid traversing the passage is in thermal contact with the heat sink region in said intermediate passage, for preventing vapor from flowing from the third surface portion to the second surface portion of the vaporizer without passing through said heat sink region; the second surface portion of the vaporizer receiving liquid from the portion of the passage extending to it and the third surface portion of the vaporizer releasing vapor into another portion of the passage extending to it, said vapor being released from the third surface portion of the vaporizer at a higher pressure than that of the liquid entering the second surface portion; and wherein a sufficient area Of the second surface portion is sufficiently close to the first and third surface portions of the vaporizer that the mean distance the liquid flows through capillary material is substantially less than the mean distance the fluid flows through the passage; and a second fluid having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in a portion of the passage adjacent the third surface portion of the vaporizer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
313 words
Heat transfer apparatus comprising: a vaporizer of capillary material having a first surface portion in thermal contact with a heat source, a second surface portion, and a third surface portion; a partly condensed fluid, a portion of said fluid being liquid and another portion being vapor, said liquid wetting said vaporizer capillary material; wall means defining a passage extending between the second surface portion of the vaporizer and the third surface portion of the vaporizer with a heat sink region therebetween, whereby fluid traversing the passage is in thermal contact with the heat sink region in said intermediate passage, for preventing vapor from flowing from the third surface portion to the second surface portion of the vaporizer without passing through said heat sink region; the second surface portion of the vaporizer receiving liquid from the portion of the passage extending to it and the third surface portion of the vaporizer releasing vapor into another portion of the passage extending to it, said vapor being released from the third surface portion of the vaporizer at a higher pressure than that of the liquid entering the second surface portion; and wherein a sufficient area of the second surface portion is sufficiently close to the first and third surface portions of the vaporizer that the mean distance the liquid flows through capillary material is substantially less then the means distance the fluid flows through the passage; a second fluid having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in a portion of the passage adjacent the third surface portion of the vaporizer; and means for restricting passage of the second fluid from the passage adjacen the third surface portion of the vaporizer to the portion of the passage adjacent the second surface portion of the vaporizer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
313 words
Heat transfer apparatus comprising: a vaporizer of capillary material having a first surface portion in thermal contact with a heat source, a second surface portion, and a third surface portion; a partly condensed fluid, a portion of said fluid being liquid and another portion being vapor, said liquid wetting said vaporizer capillary material; wall means defining a passage extending between the second surface portion of the vaporizer and the third surface portion of the vaporizer with a heat sink region therebetween, whereby fluid traversing the passage is in thermal contact with the heat sink region in said intermediate passage, for preventing vapor from flowing from the third surface portion to the second surface portion of the vaporizer without passing through said heat sink region; the second surface portion of the vaporizer receiving liquid from the portion of the passage extending to it and the third surface portion of the vaporizer releasing vapor into another portion of the passage extending to it, said vapor being released from the third surface portion of the vaporizer at a higher pressure than that of the liquid entering the second surface portion; and wherein a sufficient area of the second surface portion is sufficiently close to the first and third surface portions of the vaporizer that the mean distance the liquid flows through capillary material is substantially less then the means distance the fluid flows through the passage; a second fluid having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in a portion of the passage adjacent the third surface portion of the vaporizer; and means for restricting passage of the second fluid from the passage adjacen the third surface portion of the vaporizer to the portion of the passage adjacent the second surface portion of the vaporizer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a cooler portion of the appartus under operating conditions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
150 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; and a second fluid adjacent a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacnet the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
150 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; and a second fluid adjacent a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacnet the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
226 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relative warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a multiplicity of closely spaced rEgional areas of vaporization comprising surface portions of the body of capillary material which receive heat entering the chamber by conduction through the capillary material underlying the regional areas of vaporization; a multiplicity of vapor passages in vapor communication between the regional areas of vaporization and the vapor way for conveying vapor formed at the multiplicity of regional areas of vaporization at least part of the way to the vapor way; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
226 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relative warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a multiplicity of closely spaced rEgional areas of vaporization comprising surface portions of the body of capillary material which receive heat entering the chamber by conduction through the capillary material underlying the regional areas of vaporization; a multiplicity of vapor passages in vapor communication between the regional areas of vaporization and the vapor way for conveying vapor formed at the multiplicity of regional areas of vaporization at least part of the way to the vapor way; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
235 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a multiplicity of closed spaced regional areas of condensation comprising surface portions of the body of capillary material whereat heat is released by condensation of the vapor and conducted away through the underlying capillary material; a multiplicity of vapor passages in vapor communication between the vapor way and the regional areas of condensation, and wherein the multiplicity of vapor passages conveyor vapor to be condensed at the multiplicity of regional areas of condensation at least a portion of the way from the vapor way thereto; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
235 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a multiplicity of closed spaced regional areas of condensation comprising surface portions of the body of capillary material whereat heat is released by condensation of the vapor and conducted away through the underlying capillary material; a multiplicity of vapor passages in vapor communication between the vapor way and the regional areas of condensation, and wherein the multiplicity of vapor passages conveyor vapor to be condensed at the multiplicity of regional areas of condensation at least a portion of the way from the vapor way thereto; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
166 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a second fluid in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluis is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions; and means for restricting passage of the liquid phase of the second fluid from the relatively cooler regions to the relatively warmer regions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
166 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; a second fluid in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluis is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions; and means for restricting passage of the liquid phase of the second fluid from the relatively cooler regions to the relatively warmer regions.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
68 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein the means for restricting passage of the liquid phase of the second fluid comprises a body of capillary material that is wet by the first liquid in preference to the second liquid and positioned in the chamber as a barrier to the passage of the second liquid from the relatively cooler regions to the relatively warmer regions.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
175 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the Chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions; and wherein the body of capillary material is wettable by the liquid of the first fluid in preference to the liquid of the second fluid.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
175 words
An improved heat transfer apparatus comprising: a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the Chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions; and a second fluid comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions; and wherein the body of capillary material is wettable by the liquid of the first fluid in preference to the liquid of the second fluid.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
66 words
Heat transfer apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for restricting passage of the second fluid comprises a body of capillary material wet by the first liquid and positioned as a barrier to the passage of the second fluid from the passage adjacent the third surface portion of the vaporizer to the portion of the passage adjacent the second surface portion of the vaporizer.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
Heat transfer apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein the body of capillary material is wettable by the liquid of the first fluid in preference to the liquid of the second fluid.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
147 words
In a heat transfer apparatus comprising a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; and a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions, the improvement comprising: a second fluid in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
147 words
In a heat transfer apparatus comprising a closed chamber; a first fluid, comprising a liquid and its vapor in the chamber; a body of capillary material in the chamber for conveying liquid from relatively cooler regions to relatively warmer regions; and a vapor way in the chamber for conveying vapor from relatively warmer regions to relatively cooler regions, the improvement comprising: a second fluid in the chamber, the liquid thereof having no more than a limited solubility in the liquid of the first fluid and the vapor thereof being free to commingle with the vapor of the first fluid in at least a portion of the vapor way adjacent the relatively cooler regions, and wherein the vapor pressure of the second fluid is sufficiently low that at least a portion of the second fluid is condensed in a relatively cooler portion of the apparatus under operating conditions.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-06-25 | 1976-12-25 | 1977-06-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-06-25 | 1980-12-25 | 1981-06-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-06-25 | 1984-12-25 | 1985-06-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |